FTC report finds ‘scant evidence’ to justify repair restrictions
The FTC's "Nixing the Fix" report asserts that manufacturer justifications for consumer repair restrictions have "scant evidence" to support them.
Manufacturers too often prevent consumers from repairing the products they own, resulting in more waste and more cost to consumers.
Frustrated by these restrictions, Americans are calling for the right to repair, and a highly anticipated U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report to Congress has now reaffirmed that call. The FTC’s “Nixing the Fix” report, published May 6, asserts that manufacturer justifications for consumer repair restrictions have “scant evidence” to support them.
Weeks earlier, U.S. PIRG, together with iFixit and Repair.org, delivered more than 15,000 signatures urging the FTC to protect consumers’ right to repair.
“The bipartisan, unanimous report is yet another indication that right to repair isn’t a partisan idea, but rather common sense,” said U.S. PIRG Right to Repair Director Nathan Proctor. “People need to fix things, and manufacturers’ behavior toward repair is damaging and unacceptable.”
U.S. PIRG is now urging the FTC to take swift action to ensure consumers have the right to repair products they own.
Photo: Flashback: Nathan Proctor discusses the impacts of repair restrictions as a speaker at the FTC’s 2019 “Nixing the Fix” workshop. Credit: Metroid Video